WANTED—A CHARON

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 4, Issue 144, 20 August 1941, Page 4

WANTED—A CHARON

Sir. —I believe our local Borough Council is to make access rtiad down to the river opposite the Paper Mills for the convenience of people who are obliged to row across be-* -•aiise there is no bridge for miles-.. Perhaps the bHdge will come soonor or later, or as the French used to saj r to our soldiers, "Apres La Guerre Finit." So while we are <vaiting we can have our choice of ■swimming or rowing a boat to get to and from'mills and town. What -i pity someone does not. start a ferry. I understand that the ajieient Greeks invented a story about Charon, who ferried souls across the River Styx, on the way from this world to the world hereafter., Maybe there is a bridge there now, so Charon will be out of a job (or >n Social Security), I believe that ■in the days of the Seddon ment there was a ferry punt at the site of the concrete bridge, and that is how everyone crossed the river. Well, what about cur Borough Council going "back to Seddon," and so rigging up a punt on a wire rope at the Paper Mills? It surely would not cost, a great deal and would save a lot of time, trouble 'and benzine, besides bringing-more business to the town and so on* Maybe there could be a toll charged for using the ferry, or else it could be one operated by users at their own risk. It is a fact that the town of Whalcatane has now grown past the river and a suburb has sprung up on the western bank. Why wait five years for a bridge? Let .us >io> something before someone gets drowned at the crossing. Years ago the County Council had ferries at Te Teko and JVfa^ata. Yours etc., INTERESTED